Triple Chocolate Cookies n’ Cream Peppermint Bark

Peppermint bark is a holiday staple – or, at least, it appears in quite a few stores and a package always seems to make its way under my tree around Christmas. It’s easy to make it yourself and it makes a great holiday gift, as well as being a good treat to put out when guests stop by for snacks and hot cocoa. It is basically a layer or two of chocolate that has crushed peppermints added to the top. The combination of crunchy mint and creamy chocolate is a good one.

But as much as I enjoy crushed candy canes, big chunks of mint can be a little bit too crunchy for my tastes. This year, I topped my peppermint bark off with crushed Peppermint JoJo’s, the Trader Joe’s brand Oreo look-a-like. I’ve used these cookies before in Peppermint Cookies n’ Cream Brownies with great results. They’re crisp, have a nice creamy center and have just enough flecks of real peppermint candy in the filling. They make a great topping for this chocolate bark with all of those different textures!

My chocolate base has three layers, with dark, milk and white chocolate. Each layer must be chilled before adding the next layer, so make sure to allow some chilling time when you set out to make this. Also, use good quality chocolates (I like Dove, Ghiradelli and Guittard) because the chocolate is the most important element of this dessert and it just won’t be the same if you use the cheap stuff.

Very lightly grease an 8×8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
In a medium-sized, microwave safe bowl, melt dark chocolate. Heat in 45 second intervals in the microwave, stirring frequently, until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer with a spatula.
Refrigerate for about 20 minutes, or until firm.
Repeat with milk chocolate.
When milk chocolate is firm, repeat with white chocolate. Before refrigerating, sprinkle top with crushed peppermint Oreo cookies (Trader Joe’s Peppermint JoJos) or crushed peppermint candies.
Refrigerate until firm.
Bring to room temperature to serve. Slice with a sharp knife or break into chunks to serve.

Looks great. I love TJ’s Peppermint Joes. You mentioned Dove–I’m guessing for the milk chocolate. I’m not a big fan of Dove’s. Have you ever tried TJ’s Milk Chocolate? I rarely use milk chocolate in recipes so I don’t keep much around but I wondered if you had tried it and what you think of it. I like the dark chocolate in the big bars. I don’t think it rated high in taste tests but I like it.

You’re killin’ me! This stuff looks amazing, and I love the idea of using cookies instead of mint because I feel the same way you do about big chunks of candy cane. Another one of your recipes to add to the list!

I made this and it was indeed tasty and very easy to make. My one complaint is that there seems to be way too many crumbled cookies on top. About half of the topping wound up falling off when I cut the bark into pieces. I wasn’t sure if this was supposed to happen or if it was all supposed to be absorbed into the bark and stuck when the chocolate solidified.

I have to agree with Lina – soooo yummy, but too many cookies. However, the pieces that fell off will be great for sprinkling on ice cream. I also had a hard time breaking it up into chunks, but the response to the finished product has been great so far. Thanks for the recipe!